DUNLAP, Tenn. – The Notre Dame boys kept their basketball season alive in the opening round of the District 7-AA tournament at Sequatchie County High School Monday night, but the Signal Mountain boys weren’t as fortunate.
The Fighting Irish improved to 8-18 overall with a hard-fought 68-59 victory over Grundy County while the Eagles will call it a season at 10-18 after getting beat by Bledsoe County in Monday’s second game by a 68-56 final.
Two girls games are on tap for Tuesday night with Chattanooga Christian facing Grundy County in the opener at 6:30 EST while Sequatchie County will challenge Notre Dame in the second game.
The Notre Dame boys return to action on Thursday when they face top-seeded Chattanooga Christian at 6:30 while the Bledsoe County-Sequatchie County game will follow.
NOTRE DAME 68, GRUNDY CO. 59: These two teams split during the regular season with each winning on the road.
The Fighting Irish had a great start as they scored 10 of the first 12 points and had a 15-6 lead when the first quarter ended.
That lead stretched to a dozen on three occasions in the second stanza, but the Yellow Jackets scored eight of the final nine points to get within 28-23 at intermission.
Trent Hampton, who picked up two fouls early in the first quarter and his third during the first minute of the second, spent a large portion of the first half on the bench, but returned to action in the final 90 seconds of the half to score those final eight points.
Boo Goins hit the first of two free throws with 5:23 showing in the third to get Grundy within 30-29 before Peter Berce hit back-to-back 3s for a little breathing room for the Irish.
A short jumper from the baseline by Trey Hampton with 2:49 left was the end of a 7-0 run as the Yellow Jackets knotted the score at 36-36. A layup by Noah Bean tied it again 13 seconds later before Grundy County enjoyed its only lead at 40-38 following two free throws by Kollyn Cooper with 2:25 left.
Monroe Beard and Kolby McGowan both sank one free throw each before Derwin Lewis converted a three-point play as Notre Dame regained the lead and never trailed again.
Trent Hampton scored on a short bank shot with 19 seconds left in the third to knot the score for the last time at 45-45 before a 3 from Lewis gave Notre Dame a 48-45 lead with one quarter remaining.
The Yellow Jackets got within two in the first minute of the fourth quarter and the difference was two at 61-59 following a drive by Goins with 1:37 to play, but the Irish were able to sustain the pressure and finished the game on a 7-0 run to advance.
Coach J.P. Nerbun, who is leaving Notre Dame after five seasons to move back to Pennsylvania to be closer to family, is just happy that he gets to lead these guys for another two weeks.
“I get to coach these guys for another two weeks and I’m excited,” he said shortly after the final horn sounded.
“It was a scrappy game and you have to give Grundy County credit for getting back in it, but we took care of the ball in the fourth quarter and were able to close it out. We’ve lost a lot of games like that one this season, but we were able to hang on and make some critical shots down the stretch,” he added.
Grundy County coach Kevin Butner felt like his team did all in their power to prevail, but it just wasn’t meant to be on this particular evening.
“It was hard for us to get going at the start, but Trent Hampton came in late and gave us a lift after getting in foul trouble early. Both teams played hard, but Notre Dame is really athletic. We had a really good year despite this loss and we’re headed in the right direction,” he said with a positive tone.
Lewis scored 17 points and was one of three Notre Dame players in double figures.
C.J. Greer followed with 15 while McGowan finished with 10. Berce was next with nine points while Akil Sledge had eight and also grabbed 14 rebounds as Notre Dame had an unofficial 26-23 edge on the boards.
Trent Hampton had 16 points to lead Grundy County while Goins was next with a dozen. Blane Harris finished with nine points and Trey Hampton eight. Noah Bean and Harris both grabbed six rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.
BLEDSOE CO. 68, SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 56: The Warriors never trailed in this one as they scored seven of the first nine points and were comfortably ahead 21-12 when the first quarter ended.
It was still a fairly-close game at intermission with the guys from Pikeville still ahead by 29-21, but things changed in Bledsoe’s favor at the start of the second half.
That eight-point spread was quickly 35-21 in the first two minutes of the third quarter and another 11-0 run midway through the period extended the difference to 46-24 following a layup by Dawson Frechette with 2:51 showing.
Bledsoe’s lead was 53-32 when the fourth quarter began and it was clear at that point the Warriors would prevail and advance to Thursday’s semifinal round.
The biggest lead was 23 points twice in the fourth, the last time at 60-37 following two free throws by Wally Schmidt with 4:29 to play.
Riley Meloncon scored on a layup just inside the two-minute mark for a 66-46 advantage before the Eagles made it respectable with a 10-2 run at the end.
“That was a big win for us as I want our seniors to go out the right way,” said Bledsoe coach Lucas Nunley after his team had improved to 14-13 overall.
“This isn’t the most skilled basketball team in the world, but we have lots of kids with huge hearts. We felt like the first part of the second half would tell the tale and that was the case, but we got a little complacent there at the end.
“We advanced to the region with this win and that was the final goal we had set as a team before the season began. I’m really pleased with the effort we got tonight,” he added.
It seemed like the same story and the umpteenth verse for the Eagles. Coach Steven Redman quickly pointed out the problem for his team.
“We just got outhustled and bad things normally happen under those circumstances. We were ice-cold shooting and never could get a break as it was just one of those nights.
“The effort just wasn’t there from the opening tip. I guess somebody had to go home and I’m just sorry it’s my team,” the coach concluded.
Meloncon scored 27 points to lead the Warriors, including 18 in the second half. Trail Hyatte was also in double figures with 10 while Frechette finished with nine.
K.T. Webb and Jarren Radden were tops for Signal Mountain with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Owen Honroth finished with nine.
The Warriors also had an unofficial 28-23 edge on the glass as Cole Angel, Hyatte and Frechette all grabbed five rebounds apiece. Angel also scored seven points, but he was a force in the paint with at least eight blocked shots.
Radden was the leading rebounder for the Eagles with 11.
NOTRE DAME 15 13 20 20 -- 68
GRUNDY CO. 6 17 22 14 -- 59
NOTRE DAME (68) – McGowan 10, Greer 15, Sledge 8, Lewis 17, Nelson 2, Corbitt 4, Beard 3, Berce 9, Oyler.
GRUNDY CO. (59) – Trent Hampton 16, Trey Hampton 8, Cooper 6, Harris 9, Anderson, Bean 6, Hill, Lusk 2, Goins 12.
3-POINT GOALS: Notre Dame 5 (Lewis 2, Berce 3); Grundy Co. 6 (Trent Hampton 2, Trey Hampton, Harris, Goins 2).
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 12 9 11 24 -- 56
BLEDSOE COUNTY 21 8 24 15 -- 68
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN (56) – Reece 6, Kelly, Russell, Howley 2, Silvestro 1, Webb 13, Lisowski 2, McCaffrey 5, Honroth 9, Radden 12, Williams 2, Menge 2, Stiles 2.
BLEDSOE CO. (68) – Hyatte 10, Frechette 9, Pursley 4, Van Valkenburg 4, Meloncon 27, Schmidt 5, Berry, Rogers, Lewis, Burgess, Angel 7, Richardson 2, Watson.
3-POINT GOALS: Signal Mountain 3 (Reece, Webb, Radden); Bledsoe County 4 (Hyatte 2, Meloncon, Schmidt).
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)